Top 10 Favorite Films Released By Criterion

[lordofdance]

ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS
Dreamy jazz score and great atmosphere.

PEEPING TOM
Slightly campy, highly entertaining British serial killer film. It came out around the time Psycho did, but I like Peeping Tom more.

THE 400 BLOWS
A movie about childhood that isn't sentimental, but isn't exploitive like Kids, either.

GATE OF FLESH
Vibrant and gritty. Another favorite.

A CANTERBURY TALE
Kind of inspiring, but I like it mostly for the style and atmosphere. Some people might think that it meanders a bit, but I enjoy the pace.

HAXAN
Loaded with nightmarish and irreverent images, some of which are genuinely frightening. Especially impressive is that the film was made 80 years ago.

JIGOKU
Grim, gruesom look at the Japanese version of Hell.

NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
One of my favorite films. Giulietta Masina is wonderful to watch.

CONTEMPT
A beautiful film to look at, with a haunting score. Brigitte Bardot has several artistic nude scenes.

SIX MORAL TALES
Not all of the six movies included in the set are great, but overall it's a good package. I really enjoy Claire's Knee and La Collectionneuse. These films aren't for everybody, particularly those who don't like to watch French people talking a lot.

HONORABLE MENTION- EQUINOX
Primitive special effects by todays standards, but a really fun supernatural horror film, nonetheless.

[criterionmaster]

lordofdance said:

ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS
Dreamy jazz score and great atmosphere.

PEEPING TOM
Slightly campy, highly entertaining British serial killer film. It came out around the time Psycho did, but I like Peeping Tom more.

THE 400 BLOWS
A movie about childhood that isn't sentimental, but isn't exploitive like Kids, either.

GATE OF FLESH
Vibrant and gritty. Another favorite.

A CANTERBURY TALE
Kind of inspiring, but I like it mostly for the style and atmosphere. Some people might think that it meanders a bit, but I enjoy the pace.

HAXAN
Loaded with nightmarish and irreverent images, some of which are genuinely frightening. Especially impressive is that the film was made 80 years ago.

JIGOKU
Grim, gruesom look at the Japanese version of Hell.

NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
One of my favorite films. Giulietta Masina is wonderful to watch.

CONTEMPT
A beautiful film to look at, with a haunting score. Brigitte Bardot has several artistic nude scenes.

SIX MORAL TALES
Not all of the six movies included in the set are great, but overall it's a good package. I really enjoy Claire's Knee and La Collectionneuse. These films aren't for everybody, particularly those who don't like to watch French people talking a lot.

HONORABLE MENTION- EQUINOX
Primitive special effects by todays standards, but a really fun supernatural horror film, nonetheless.

I agree with you on 400 Blows. Truffaut doesn't let the film being about his own childhood get in the way of this masterpiece. And to tell you the truth I haven't seen any of the other films on your list (except half of Canterbury Tale), although all of them I have been wanted to see for a long time now. And Equinox I have sitting at my house right now, which cut do you recommend?

andruini said:

okay, sure, why not. i'll go with FAVORITE, not GREATEST.

i fidanzati - shame that not many people seem to notice this one. one of the best (read: the best) italian films i've ever seen. it's a beautiful story of love, longing, and a meditative piece on a relationship on the verge of ending. it also displays techniques that are WAAAAY ahead of its time.

mon oncle - i don't know why i love this the most out of the tati films, it's not as funny as holiday, or as masterful as playtime, yet it has a certain charm, warmth and spirit that elevate it for me. it's a combination of the worlds displayed in the other two films. masterpiece.

playtime - tati's crowning achievement, technically speaking. the set design, comedic coreography and timing in this are just impeccable. it's the coldest, most dettached tati film in the collection, and it contains less hulot, yet, it displays moments of perfect comedy and social critizism.

ratcatcher - ramsay's film was a huge surprise for me, i was immediately drawn in by its story. perfect photography, great actors directed impeccably by ramsay, it's a film to keep an eye out for.

ali: fear eats the soul - i blind-bought this, wanting to get into fassbinder and i was completely blown away. sincere, powerful, devastating, harrowing, i could use an infinity of terms for this fantastic film. the story is so genuine and so haunting, you'll be thinking about this film for a long time. i still am.

a woman under the influence - watch this, just do. you'll see why i hold it in such high regard. rowlands and falk's performances are amongst the best ever to be caught on film and the film is so grueling it will stick with you long after you watch it.

m. hulot's holiday - rewatching this film the other night, it just hit me that this is one of the funniest films, if not the funniest, to ever come out. there's not much else i can say about tati, except that he's a comedic god.

red beard - kurosawa's best, in my opinion. this film is just incredible, and even though it's quite long (3 hours, i believe), it's an incredibly easy watch. many moments have stuck with me, and it's one of the most humane films i've ever watched. if you say you like kurosawa, you HAVE to watch this.

a woman is a woman - my favorite godard so far, the film is an amazingly fun, no-rules extravaganza. taking elements from such varied genres as the musical, the crime film, and so on, godard builds one of the most enjoyable films i've ever watched. i'm dying to rewatch this soon.

au revoir les enfants - one of the most intense films i've ever seen. malle is a director i often feel is overlooked when talking about the french new wave. well i have two words to those who overlook him. fuck that. this film is one of the best i've ever seen, and i'm dying to see more of his work. (don't pass up the rest of the set just because of this though, they're all worth it).

You seem to like Tati so much so I will give him a try sometime soon, good starting place would be...? You already know my thoughts on Ratcatcher, they are in the thread. I don't remember if we ever finished that discussion?

Ali is one of the most powerful films I have seen. I can't believe I even like the film, look at what it is about, two people I have nothing to connect to (middle age arab dude and an old lady) but somehow Fassbinder makes me care about these characters. I believe I posted more thoughts in its thread but seriously, everyone see this film.

Woman Under the Influence isn't my favorite Cassavetes but it was definitely the most painful to watch. I really did love it though and see why you put it on your list. I am really dying to see the rest of the films on your list, especially au revoir les enfants and i fidanzati. Mainly because of you.

I will rank my films sometime soon, I think I will include pictures with mine lol. ;D

[dontdigonswine]

I'll try to recall all that I've seen from Criterion...

[1] 8 1/2
[2] Seven Samurai
[3] Seventh Seal
[4] Fanny and Alexander
[5] Le samourai
[6] L'Avventura
[7] M
[8] Solyaris
[9] The 400 Blows
[10] Jules and Jim

[lordofdance]

And Equinox I have sitting at my house right now, which cut do you recommend?

I liked the theatrical release more, but that may be because I watched it first. There are definite differences.

[criterionmaster]

Okay, thanks. That is what I will watch then when I watch the film.